Songs of Innocence and Experience
by Rltsweetie22591
Summary: Half of Glee Club are flunking English, what happens when the new English teacher and Mr Schue come up with an idea for them to cross over music and English... Mainly Finchel with some other cross overs.      Based on the work of William Blake
1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys, I'm back with another Finchel story because you know "Finchel are totally gonna do it!" *FANGIRLSQUEE!* So, yeah! I hope you guys enjoy and I live off of reviews so if you guys have a moment then that would be delightful. Now, that I am finished my other story "Letters of Hurt" I am going to throw myself into this one! ENJOY! Oh and btw, this is another from Finn's point of view. That dude is easy to write about. _

**Songs of Innocence and Experience**

"Okay, guys. You really need to get your act together! I've been told at least half of you are flunking English?" Mr Schue said to us. I could tell it was partly aimed at me, but seriously who cares about someone called Blake or something like that.

"Mr Schue, if you don't mind, I have an idea," a voice said from the doorway. I looked up and Miss Thomson was at the door. She was our English teacher and apart from the fact that she was flunking half of us she actually was quite a cool teacher. She reminded me of Rachel actually, just an older version.

Mr Schue and Miss Thomson spoke for a while and then came to face the Glee Club. "Okay, so we have decided a way that you guys can get your grades up and try and enjoy the work of William Blake as well. Your project for Glee Club for the next few weeks is to write songs and perform songs based around Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience," Miss Thomson stated.

"Exactly guys, and so you do a good job Miss Thomson will be staying to help you all out. I want you to pair up and work on this together. If you do a good job then it means that your grades go up and we can have a bit of fun with this too and you never know, we may get a number from sectionals out of this. Something Educational and fun," Mr Schue said smiling at us all. Miss Thomson giggling at the idea.

Rachel's hand went up straight away. "So, for this project in pairs how is it going to work? And do we get to decide on the poems we do or do we work on a variety of them? I personally like the majority of them," she stated. I looked at her and she was beaming. Of course Rachel liked this plan. She liked anything to do with music and that was educational.

"Good question Rachel," Miss Thomson said with a smile. It was clear that Rachel was one of Miss Thomson's favourites, "What you guys will do is, one of you will be Innocence and one will be Experience as each of the poems are linked. So you will stay like that the whole way through the project. Like an example is "The Lamb" and one is "The Tyger" they are opposites so for example, Rachel you would work on "The Lamb" if you were Innocence and Finn, you would work on "The Tyger" if you were experience and try and portray what Blake was feeling in your songs and make it into a duet, comprehend?" Miss Thomson explained.

I nodded. This would be interesting. English may slowly be becoming one of my favourite classes if we got assignments like this. It would surely make it easier to understand.

"So, partners. I'm going to let you decide your partners but remember you have to work hard on this," Mr Schue said.

"And, if you do this to a high standard I will mark this as your final grade so that means no English exams at the end of the year," Miss Thomson said with a smirk on her face, high fiving Mr Schue. Miss Thomson smiled at everyone.

"Wow, you are pure genius," Mr Schue said to Miss Thomson who just shrugged.

I walked up to Rachel and smiled wrapping my arms around her, "Partner?" I asked smiling gently at her.

"Of course," she said pecking my lips. I was going to go home after this and actually read the Romanticism book that we had been given at the start of term.

"Okay guys, you know where my office is if you need any help outside of Glee. Mr Schue has copies of the books for all those of you who misplaced it," she said looking straight at Puck, "and I will be here for every Glee practice from now until the end of the deadline. The first performance I would like one of you to do is on Friday if that is okay with you guys?"

We all nodded and she walked out of the room, then turned around and added, "Oh, and guys! You make a good job of this and I'll get my friend from a film company to come in and make a video of it, for you and for my future English classes. Can be used to help you get into College or put on your CVs." And with that she left the room to a stunned class and Mr Schue.

Puck made some sort of wolf-whistling noise and I turned around and smirked at him before turning back to Rachel.

Miss Thomson was certainly a good motivator and I couldn't wait to start this project, especially since I would get an extra grade at the end of this. I could just imagine my mom's face if she found out I got an A in English and it may just be enough to help me get into a College in New York with Rachel.

There was literally no downside to this assignment.

_So guys, what do you think? I am studying Romanticism at the moment and as soon as my lecturer started speaking about this I had an idea for this fic. Haha. So I am technically studying whilst writing this. Everyone wins!_

_Hope you enjoyed. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys. Hope you are all having a good day. I have the afternoon off so thought I would write you an ickle chapter to keep you going before the hard work of uni has to start. Totally sucks. But anyway, enjoy!_

"Miss Thomson." I said running up to her in the corridor the next day, "I actually read some of them poems. They are awesome and quite motivating. Thanks for making us read them." She smiled at me and stopped at her office door. I saw Puck out of the corner of my eye and he walked over.

"Well boys, I have a bit of a confession of my own," she said as she walked into her office with us following her at her heels, "At school I hated studying Blake. It was only because my teacher was so passionate that I started liking his work. I still have the recording of him speaking about it, and if you have time then I will let you guys listen to it." We both nodded and made ourselves comfortable.

A very proper and well spoken English voice broke from the speakers of the iPad on Miss Thomson's desk, "For the seminar, please prepare carefully the following pairs of poems: the two 'Introductions'; 'Infant Joy' and 'Infant Sorrow'; 'The Lamb' and 'The Tyger'; plus 'The Shepherd (which is part of _Innocence_) and 'London' (which is part of _Experience_). In the case of the _Innocence_ poems, ask how 'innocent' the poem actually are, and how that impression is created. Look carefully at the language and form of the poems to see how they reinforce (or undermine) what is actually said. In the case of _Experience_, try to pinpoint Blake's satirical targets, but also pay attention to linguistic and formal features, bearing in mind the points made in the lecture about the shifting relationship between the two sets of poems. We will mainly be discussing the verbal texts (as reprinted in the Wu anthology) but try to have a look at the illustrated versions on the Blake Archive website which is .org/blake/. If any of you have a problem just come into my office between 1 and 3 on a Monday and I will help in any way I can."

The recording stopped at this point and Miss Thomson looked up at Puck and I. "So boys, everything okay or do you need help with your work? I'm assuming that Puck is working with Quinn and Finn is working with Rachel, am I right?" she asked with a knowing smile, "and boys, you have class and we don't want you flunking any more," She added with a cheeky grin.

I walked into math to find out our teacher wasn't there and that we had a free period so Rach and I headed to the choir room to work on our songs. We quickly got settled down and Rachel took out her pink fluffy notebook and a pen and started speaking, "So, Finn, have you decided what poems you would like to start with?"

I didn't say anything to start but just nodded and my head and that was when the poetry started to flow from my mouth,

"Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  
>In the forests of the night,<br>What immortal hand or eye  
>Could frame thy fearful symmetry?<p>

In what distant deeps or skies  
>Burnt the fire of thine eyes?<br>On what wings dare he aspire?  
>What the hand dare sieze the fire?<p>

And what shoulder, & what art.  
>Could twist the sinews of thy heart?<br>And when thy heart began to beat,  
>What dread hand? &amp; what dread feet?<p>

What the hammer? what the chain?  
>In what furnace was thy brain?<br>What the anvil? what dread grasp  
>Dare its deadly terrors clasp?<p>

When the stars threw down their spears,  
>And watered heaven with their tears,<br>Did he smile his work to see?  
>Did he who made the Lamb make thee?<p>

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  
>In the forests of the night,<br>What immortal hand or eye  
>Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"<p>

"Finn, I am so impressed," Rach said as she smiled happily at me, "So, do you understand what it's about? Because before we can do anything we need to understand the poetry and work on their differences and strengths."

I nodded as I really did understand this. Maybe it was Miss Thomson playing the clip or the fact that she actually taught English in a way that was understandable. I'm not sure.

"The Tyger is a short poem of very regular form and meter, like a children's rhyme in shape (if certainly not in content and implication). It is six quatrains, four-line stanzas rhymed AABB, so that they are each made up of two rhyming couplets. It has something to do with trochaic tetrameter, but I can't remember exactly what," I said looking at Rach to see if she knew.

She had a shocked look on her face. I just shrugged and carried on talking, "The opening quatrain of "The Tyger" is repeated at the end, like a chorus, so that the poem wraps around itself, with only one word change."

Rachel shook her head and looked at me. "Finn! You are so incredibly clever. We are going to rock this song," Rachel said with a giggle before peppering kisses all around my mouth. We could get back to writing the song later. I was going to enjoy this for now. I felt like needed a present for doing well. And Rachel presents were the best.

_So, what you guys thinking? I used my notes to write that chapter, so I am studying. My mum just came in to check I was working and I could actually tell her I was. Anyway, let me know what you thought._


End file.
